Early Head Start (EHS) is a federally funded community-based program for low-income families with infants and toddlers and pregnant women.
- The EHS mission is to:
- Promote healthy prenatal outcomes for pregnant women
- Enhance the development of very young children
- Promote healthy family functioning
The framework of the Early Head Start program includes four cornerstones, plus three other areas of importance – Administration/Management, Continuous Improvement, and Children with Disabilities. The Four Cornerstones of Early Head Start are:
The Four Cornerstones of Early Head Start are:
- Child Development
- Family Development
- Community Building
- Staff Development
The Center for Family Resources operates under these four cornerstones of EHS by:
- Supporting the physical, social, emotional, cognitive, and language development of each child
- Seeking to empower families by encouraging them to develop goals for themselves and their children
- Conducting a community assessment of local resources in order to increase family access to community support
- Providing ongoing training, supervision, and mentoring to emphasize the inter-disciplinary approach and relationship building
The Center for Family Resources provides the EHS program for low-income children ages birth to three years throughout all of Passaic County (excluding Paterson and Passaic City) with an emphasis on school readiness and child outcomes. Our Early Head Start program includes the center-based option, home based option, and family child care option. All options run all year long.Center Based Option:
Center Based Option
- Classroom sessions 5 days per week.
- Before/after care by location.
Home Based Option
- Weekly home visits conducted by a home visitor
- Bi-weekly socializations
- Available for pregnant women
Family Child Care
- Children attend a licensed family child care (FCC) provider home 5 days a week.
- 7:30a – 5:30p, 50 weeks a year.
EHS is available at the following sites